Editor’s note: This is a play in response to the photograph above, for the ENG Department’s course Genremorphosis. A girl and an old woman, inside a screened porch. The girl is standing, the woman is next to her, sitting and staring at the ground. They seem to be both thinking. They are facing away from…
“Umbrellas and Bottles” by Stuart Christie
Foreword I’m delighted to announce the publication of an important volume from the University of Mississippi Press, Teaching the Works of Eudora Welty Twenty-First-Century Approaches, which includes an essay of mine about teaching Eudora Welty in Hong Kong, with direct and attributed input (discourse, photos, storyboards, and images) from some remarkable young people who helped me…
“The Fishy Return of Richard Strickland” by Daisy Lam and Eadgyth Lui
I don’t know why I am here. But I guess I have been summoned by the recent release of a film which happens to be an appropriation of my life—and which I do not like. The film, a take on a Beauty and the Beast-kind of love story between a gill-god fishman amphibious creature and…
“Sylvia and Chester, I’m in” by Nicole Lai
I want to follow you two But I’m not so sure Is this my cure? I will make no cry So no one would ask why Read Sylvia’s Listen to Chester’s Then you can feel How much we wanted to heal And how much we wanted to kill My heart aches Or suffocates I don’t…
“She Waits” by Pamela Wong
It is a Tuesday in the blue winter. As she walks in and sits down, as usual, on this maroon seat in this shadowless corner, the barista, knowing that she stays for a whole afternoon, has served her an espresso, and she knows it’s her last one today. She never gives a careful look…
“Beyond Tsismosa and Before Artista” by Jason S Polley
WIMLER Foundation Hong Kong Ltd. was officially registered in 2011 as a non-profit and charitable organisation and its primary objective is to support the capacity building and empowerment of migrant communities regardless of nationalities and to promote cultural diversity in Hong Kong based on mutual respect, solidarity, and shared empowerment among peoples. . This Cha…
“The English Lesson” by Justin Yeung
PART 1: THE HANDOVER I never wanted to be back. If it wasn’t for her call from last week, I wouldn’t be waiting in this crowded line to get into Iciria. I shouldn’t have left Pearl alone. I was shocked when she whispered the news to me on the phone. “I’m Lee’s now, come back…
“Eloquence, Anger, Sincerity: Henry Wei Leung’s Goddess of Democracy” by Jason S Polley
Henry Wei Leung, Goddess of Democracy: An Occupy Lyric, Omnidawn, 2017, 128 pgs. {☂} A banner: 我 要 真 普 選 Here’s a long opening-sentence: when I saw the Chinese characters quoted above in Henry Wei Leung’s piece “An Umbrella: Revolution,” characters I recall from the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Admiralty, characters…
“On Kingsley Ng’s after the deluge” by Tammy Ho Lai-Ming
It is easy to forget, in a city as modern and seemingly functional as Hong Kong, how it has been shaped by a long succession of disasters, both natural and man-made. There have been outbreaks of plague, the notorious Happy Valley racecourse fire, which took place 100 years ago this month, other conflagrations such as…
“English in Hong Kong: Usage and Attitudes: A Survey” by Robert Fuchs
We are interested in when people in Hong Kong use English and what their attitudes to using English in certain contexts are. If you live in Hong Kong, no matter your level of English, nationality, origin and birthplace, we invite you to share your opinions with us and complete the survey at http://bit.ly/HKEnglish2018. The survey is…
“The Fragility of Our Benign Authentic Self” by Janet Lau
Editor’s note: This review contains spoilers. If you have not yet watched the Black Mirror episode “USS Callister” (or the entire show), please go watch it already. ‘William couldn’t find you, Dolores. But out there, among the dead, he found something else: himself.’ ─ Man in Black, Westworld The crew on USS Callister faces a…
“The Archive of Asian Sounds in English Poetry: First Recordings” by Lian-Hee Wee
For much of the world touched by the cultural spread of English that began with the age of exploration in the west to the rise of the United States following the Second World War, the language of prestige is a twisted dilemma of what is foreign and what has become also indigenised. Students of English…
“China and Its Nether Zones” by Tammy Ho Lai-Ming
The migrant wants to live. —John Berger, A Seventh Man, p. 36 In the Twilight Zone episode “The Eye of the Beholder”, a patient, whom viewers have been led to believe is horrendously disfigured, sits surrounded by medical staff eager to see if surgery to ‘correct’ her appearance has been successful. Unfortunately, the woman remains hideously ugly, and…
Announcement: Members of the ENG Department Join the Cha Writing Workshop Series
Three teaching staff from the Department of English, Tammy Ho Lai-Ming (Assistant Professor), Jason S Polley (Associate Professor) and Lian-Hee Wee (Professor) have joined the Cha Writing Workshop Series as mentors to run workshops for local schoolchildren and economically disadvantaged groups in the city. The series is supported by the English Departments at The Chinese University of…
“The Web” by Justin Yeung
No one can get out of this There were many before me No matter a her or him There’s nothing that sets them free You can run but you can’t hide Turn to your Gods, old and new Why be afraid, my dearest? It hurts a bit, the first time I closed my eyes to…
“Impromptu Performances and Wild Exhibitions: Christopher DeWolf’s Borrowed Spaces” by Jason S Polley
Christopher DeWolf, Borrowed Spaces: Life Between the Cracks of Modern Hong Kong, Penguin, 2017, 100 pags. Pictured above: Jason S Polley. My best literary friend in undergrad, then in his early 20s, and, à la Beat and Bukowski imaginary, never to be seen sans burning cigarette, bottled beer and dog-eared book, said something like this when he happened…
“On Waiting for Godot” by Magdalen Ki
Directed by Wu Xing-guo, this production opens in heavy shadow and with brooding music. Two tramps then enter the stage, walking with a heavy gait. Godot (果陀) is sinicized to become the Buddha, the symbol of hope that can save humans from dukkha (suffering). The plight of Gogo (哭哭) and Didi (啼啼) is that nirvana…
Announcement: Outstanding ENG and ENGED students 2017-2018
Congratulations to these outstanding ENG and ENGED students! Pictured here with Professor Lian-Hee Wee (ENG), Dr Tammy Ho Lai-Ming (ENG) and Professor Johnny Poon (Acting Dean, Faculty of Arts). The Outstanding Students Presentation was held on Friday 29 September 2017 to recognise Arts Faculty’s high-achieving students with awards in outstanding academic performance, outstanding achievement, outstanding…
“Gender Studies Concentration” @ HKBU
Gender Studies Concentration (GSC) at Hong Kong Baptist University is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. It consists of 21 units co-offered by the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Social Sciences. GSC aims at delivering a unique opportunity for students to add breadth to their major studies, through being exposed…
Pet Sounds: Stuart Christie
Pet Sounds: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department reflect on a piece of music or song. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Headspace” series.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] An American Summer One of my earliest memories is of lying on cool, terracotta tiles at my godmother’s…
Pet Sounds: Jason Eng Hun Lee
Pet Sounds: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department reflect on a piece of music or song. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Headspace” series.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] It’s a Terrible Beauty We’ve Made: Singing Through the Barricades with Spandau Ballet There are some songs…
“A Case for Gaming (a.k.a. My Journey as a Gamer)” by Vinton Poon
After all these years, I think I need to come out… as a gamer—in particular, a fighting gamer. I have been playing computer games since I was five, when my cousin was given a Nintendo console. My cousin, a year older than me, was a superior gamer in all aspects. He had had more practice,…
Announcement: Zabrina Lo Awarded Scholarship to Study at University College London
Zabrina Lo (Class of 2017) has been selected as one of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme 2017-18 Scholars. The scholarship, worth £20,540, covers her full tuition fees for the postgraduate programme entitled “MA English: Issues in Modern Culture” at University College London. The Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme (HKSES) was set up on 25…
Announcement: Poetry and Fiction Writing Opportunities for ENG Students
Hong Kong Baptist University’s English Poetry Contest (Unpublished Work) 2017, co-organised by the Department of English, the Department of Humanities and Creative Writing, and the International Writers Workshop (IWW), is now accepting entries. All students who submit poems will have the opportunity to join a workshop with two IWW visiting writers. Please read the guidelines…
Pet Sounds: Robert Fuchs
Pet Sounds: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department reflect on a piece of music or song. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Headspace” series.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] I have to confess that when I first read the title of this series, I thought “Well, I…
Pet Sounds: Vino Shum
Pet Sounds: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department reflect on a piece of music or song. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Headspace” series.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] Rainy and thunderous. A sleepless night. Turn on my phone. Start the mp3 player. “悲しくてやりきれない” (I Can’t Bear…
Pet Sounds: Anna Tham
Pet Sounds: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department reflect on a piece of music or song. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Headspace” series.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] Rapid rush of hollow percussion, bleak wail of dida, magnificent echo of gong, voices ring onstage and off,…
Announcement: Lian-Hee Wee of the ENG Department is a featured speaker at PEN Hong Kong’s human rights reading
On September 6th (Wednesday), PEN Hong Kong will be hosting an informal bilingual reading (Cantonese and English) as part of the International Literature Festival Berlin (ILB). The speakers will be introducing and reading something of their own choosing on the subject of human rights. This event especially welcomes writers interested in joining PEN Hong Kong to attend. Lian-Hee Wee, Professor at…
“On the Screening of The Ivory Game” by Lian-Hee Wee
On Sunday 27 August 2017, we hosted a screening of The Ivory Game at Hong Kong Baptst University (HKBU). The event was organised by ADM Capital Foundation, who has been working actively on wildlife preservation, and established a Wildlife Trade Working Group of organisations and individuals with an aim to leverage impact in key strategic areas through…
Pet Sounds: Minnie Chung
Pet Sounds: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department reflect on a piece of music or song. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Headspace” series.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] What is the Best Ending? The realization of a sweet dream turning out just as expected? Or the…
